Philippe Charles d'Orléans, ''petit-fils de France'', Duke of Valois (16 July 1664 – 8 December 1666) was a French prince and '' Grandson of France''. He was styled Duke of Valois at the time of his birth. He was a short lived nephew of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

Biography

Born at the

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...

in July 1664, he known from birth by his father's lesser title of Duke of Valois. His father, Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans, known at court as ''

Monsieur ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respec ...

'' was married to

Henrietta of England Henrietta Anne of England (16 June 1644 O.S. N.S.">New_Style.html" ;"title="6 June 1644 New Style">N.S.– 30 June 1670) was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria. Fleeing England with her mother and go ...

, daughter of the murdered

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

and the French born Queen Henriette Marie. As such, his parents were first cousins. He had one elder sister, Princess Marie Louise and a younger sister, Princess Anne Marie who was born after his death. He received the names of his father, ''Philippe'' and his maternal grandfather, ''Charles''. Philippe Charles birth helped to smooth over the difficult relationship his parents had; his father was a renowned

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

who was under the domination of his long term lover the "'' Chevalier de Lorraine''". Monsieur complained that Henriette (known simply as ''Madame'') flirted with men at court including the king himself. Court gossip claimed that Philippe Charles' own older sister Marie Louise, was the product of Louis XIV's and Madame's flirting. After the death of the Queen mother,

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unt ...

in January 1666, Louis XIV promised to raise Philippe Charles with his first cousin ''

le Grand Dauphin Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth of h ...

''. At the end of the year, Philippe Charles himself succumbed and died at the

Palais Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...

in Paris, the grace and favour residence of his parents. He was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, outside Paris.

Ancestors

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippe Charles, Duke Of Valois 1664 births 1666 deaths People from Fontainebleau House of Orléans House of Bourbon Dukes of Valois Courtesy dukes Princes of France (Bourbon) 17th-century French people Heirs apparent who never acceded Royalty and nobility who died as children